DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 11-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claim 11 lines 23-24, to correct a claim rewriting error and to provide proper grammar (an intersection position is not an angle), applicant should change “an intersection position between the radially outer sidewall surface and the outer surface is an obtuse angle” to -- at an intersection position between the radially outer sidewall surface and the outer surface, an angle between the radially outer sidewall surface and the outer surface is an obtuse angle -- .
Allowable Subject Matter
The indicated allowability of claims 1-18 is withdrawn in view of the newly discovered reference(s) to Japanese Patent Applications 2000-79809 A and 6-80003 A. The delay in identifying these references is regretted. Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) follow.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication 2021/0301429 A1 in view of Japanese Patent Applications 2000-79809 A and 6-80003 A.
The only difference between the claimed tire and the US ‘429 tire is the specified arc portion radius of curvature equal to or larger than the recess depth (embodiment of Figs. 1-4, paragraphs 0005-0076, depth 1.0 mm - 5.0 mm), however JP ‘809 and JP ‘003 teach to provide such arc portion radius of curvature to inhibit sidewall cracking (JP ‘809 R=1.0 mm - 10.0 mm with exemplary value of 7 mm from translation of reference paragraphs 0023 and 0028; JP ‘003 R=greater than 1.5 mm and less than about 10 mm with larger values minimizing the chance of sidewall cracking from translation of reference paragraph 0009); it would therefore have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide such arc portion radius of curvature in the US ‘429 tire in order to inhibit sidewall cracking. As to claims 3 and 8-10, see US ‘429 Fig. 3.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-7 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 11-18 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Adrienne C. Johnstone whose telephone number is (571)272-1218. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 1PM-5PM.
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ADRIENNE C. JOHNSTONE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1749
Adrienne Johnstone /ADRIENNE C. JOHNSTONE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1749 March 14, 2026